Consider the Alternatives: A Documentary Film Series is presented by the Burchfield Penney and the Buffalo State Communication Department.
Consider the Alternatives asks its audience to consider the alternatives – always. Using an eclectic array of subject matter, the films showcased in Consider the Alternatives explore both alternative responses to social problems and alternative ways of living and organizing families and societies, all while celebrating human triumph over adversity and repression. Consider the Alternatives is curated by documentary filmmaker Meg Knowles and media and social critic Mike Niman, both professors in the Buffalo State College Communication Department.
We are Wisconsin! is a feature-length documentary film that follows the public outcry in 2011 against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s controversial budget-repair bill, focusing on the human story behind a remarkable popular uprising forged on the floor of the Madison Capitol. The film asks the question “Why should we care about what’s going on in Wisconsin?,” through an in-depth profile of six leading individuals central to the story: a University of Wisconsin-Madison student leader, a county social worker, a nurse, a high school teacher, a police officer and a union electrician – all who come out to protest what they see as a direct attack on their livelihoods. At a time when mass demonstrations have become increasingly rare in America, this film explores what it takes to spark a social movement.
Amie Williams, director, is a graduate of University of California-Los Angeles’s master of fine arts program in film production. Her award-winning work has focused on giving voice to the margins while pushing filmic conventions. Her work has been broadcast international stations such as PBS, Al Jazeera English, BBC, and CBC, and has won numerous awards including the IDA David Wolper, Paul Robeson, SONY/Streisand Award for emerging female filmmakers, and the MacArthur Foundation Peace Grant. She is the co-founder of Global Girl Media, a non-profit that trains underserved teenage girls in new media journalism.
For questions and inquiries, contact Don Metz at (716) 878-5564.